Nitish's move not to affect alliance with JD-U: BJP

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Disapproving of Nitish Kumar's move to return the flood relief money given by Gujarat, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said there should not be any politics over such aide but maintained that the incident would not affect its "time-tested" alliance with Janata Dal-United (JD-U).

"Whenever there is a natural calamity, states do support each other. This was basically the money of the people of Gujarat. There ought not to be any politics in such relief. This was clearly avoidable and there was no need to return the money," BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

However, Prasad insisted that Kumar's decision on Saturday to return Rs 5 crore of unspent funds given by the Narendra Modi government would not affect the alliance between the two NDA partners.

"Our relations of 15 years with JD-U will continue. We have fought five Lok Sabha and six Vidhan Sabha elections together. This is a time-tested alliance which started in 1995 during the fodder scam in Bihar," Prasad said.

JD-U President and NDA Convenor Sharad Yadav also told reporters in the national capital that this new development would not affect the alliance.

Earlier, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said the aide given to Bihar during the Kosi floods of 2008 were in a spirit of solidarity, empathy and togetherness with the flood affected people of the state.

"When the money was given it was as a token of solidarity, empathy and grief felt by the people of Gujarat for the suffering endured by flood affected people of Bihar," Sitharaman told PTI.

She noted that Kumar's decision has come subsequent to an advertisement given by some Bihari youth in local newspapers.

"The money was received in the same spirit by Bihar in which it was given by Gujarat. Now due to a certain advertisement, the chief minister chose to return the money. I wonder if only the money is being returned or the feeling of empathy, solidarity and spirit of togetherness is also being returned," Sitharaman said.

During the recent BJP national executive in Patna, some Bihari migrants in Gujarat had published advertisements in local newspapers thanking Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for helping Bihar during the 2008 Kosi floods.

Kumar had termed this claim as "uncivilised", saying any gesture of help should not be proclaimed publicly and threatened to return the unspent amount to Gujarat.

The JD-U leader's posturing is understood to be in keeping with his attempt to woo the Muslim electorate in poll-bound Bihar.

He had also vociferously objected to another advertisement showing him holding hands with Narendra Modi, the hardline Hindutva face of key ally BJP.

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